Spouse of JBLM soldier pleads guilty to molesting child

Aug. 23—The spouse of a soldier based at Joint Base Lewis-McChord pleaded guilty Monday in U.S. District Court to sexual abuse of a child and abusive sexual contact with a child under 12.

Shawn Wilcher, 39, is scheduled to be sentenced Nov. 15, acting U.S. Attorney Tessa Gorman announced in a news release Monday afternoon. According to the release, Wilcher is the spouse of an active-duty Army soldier.

Wilcher was arrested in May 2019. He and his spouse lived at JBLM between October 2018 and May 21, 2019, according to the release.

In his plea agreement, Wilcher said he molested a young child who was in his care while he lived at JBLM and when he lived at Hickam Air Force Base in Hawaii.

The abuse came to light in May 2019 when the child told a friend, who reported it to a school counselor, according to the release. The Army Criminal Investigative Division and the FBI investigated the case.

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